"Young Master," Fu Xiong entered and bowed.
Li Xuan, however, remained frozen, unresponsive. His mind was still echoing the transmission from Emperor Ye before his disappearance.
"The sixth level is dangerous; even I might not be its match."
After a long while, Li Xuan exhaled, his senses returning. No matter what was suppressed on the sixth level, he had no choice but to enter. If the seal couldn't be maintained on time and those entities were released, Li Xuan would have no chance of survival. At least, for now, the one on the sixth level was still suppressed.
Li Xuan knew, however, that his time was running short. Otherwise, Emperor Ye wouldn't have told him this as he was already departing.
"What is it?" Li Xuan asked Fu Xiong.
Fu Xiong quickly replied, "Reporting to the Young Master, the Zhao, Qi, and Wang families have all evacuated Pian Guan City. Two-thirds of the city has now fallen to the Cai family. Should we intervene?"
Li Xuan shook his head. "No need. Consider it a reward for the Cai family's previous allegiance. Have they made any moves on the territory of our Xing Yao Auction House?"
"They have not," Fu Xiong replied, shaking his head.
Li Xuan nodded slightly. "In that case, there's no need to interfere. Cai Kai Ji wouldn't be foolish enough to try and seize this territory as well."
"My apologies for my overthinking," Fu Xiong said, relieved. Had he not known Cai Kai Ji had sided with Li Xuan earlier, he would have already dispatched his men when the Cai family made their move.
"Go tend to your duties. I wish to be alone for a while," Li Xuan waved his hand.
"Your subordinate takes his leave." Fu Xiong bowed deeply and turned to depart.
After Fu Xiong left, Li Xuan waved his hand, setting up a barrier before entering the Zhen Prison.
"Little Master, what's wrong?" The Heavenly Dao Pen and the Azure Spirit Tower approached Li Xuan, noticing his troubled expression.
Li Xuan sighed with a hint of helplessness. "It's nothing, I just feel a bit tired."
"Little Master, you're overthinking things. What is there to fear about being tired in life? As long as you're still breathing, you have no right to complain about being tired. Little Master, think of those still struggling for their daily meals, those relentlessly cultivating for meager resources. Aren't they tired?"
The Heavenly Dao Pen paused, then continued, "I once heard a saying: 'Why sleep so soundly in life, when eternal slumber awaits after death?' Therefore, as long as you are alive, you must strive forward, even if you have to crawl. Comfort is for the dead."
The Azure Spirit Tower nodded. "Master, though I always clash with this broken quill, I must agree with him this time. He speaks a lot, and I find his words to be reasonable."
Li Xuan: "..."
"Master!" As Li Xuan's thoughts stirred, the Benevolent Sword instantly appeared before him. To Li Xuan's surprise, the Malevolent Sword had already merged with the Benevolent Sword. The Benevolent-Malevolent Sword now exuded a sharp sword aura.
"Merged?" Li Xuan looked at the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword with surprise. After purchasing the half of the Malevolent Sword at auction, he had placed it in the Zhen Prison. He hadn't expected it to have merged with its counterpart during this time.
"Master, try it out," the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword spoke.
Li Xuan nodded slightly, then grasped the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword. In the next moment, he appeared in mid-air.
*Boom!*
With a single sword slash from Li Xuan, a thousand-meter-long gash split the earth.
"The power is so immense!" Li Xuan exclaimed in surprise, looking at the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword in his hand. He had only exerted sixty percent of his strength.
"Master, feel it more closely," the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword's voice entered Li Xuan's mind.
Li Xuan's heart stirred. Could this Benevolent-Malevolent Sword have other abilities?
With that thought, Li Xuan closed his eyes, his spiritual sense entering the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword.
"This is... an internal barrier?"
In the next moment, Li Xuan was shocked. Within the sword's core, a black and white barrier was slowly rotating.
"Master, within this barrier is a place of slaughter. Countless spirits reside there, and they will grow stronger with the Master's cultivation. It can be considered a training ground. However, the barrier is missing its key to activation, otherwise, it could help the Master improve his cultivation," the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword explained.
Li Xuan nodded slightly, looking at the slowly rotating black and white barrier. A thought struck him. He then took out the two chess pieces Yuan Tian Gang had given him.
"The key to activation?!"
This time, it was the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword's turn to be shocked, clearly not expecting the activation key to be in Li Xuan's possession.
"You're saying these are the activation keys?" Li Xuan was also taken aback. He had only noticed the black and white barrier looked familiar, which reminded him of the two chess pieces Yuan Tian Gang had gifted him. The Benevolent-Malevolent Sword's words, however, shocked him.
Had Yuan Tian Gang foreseen all of this?!
"Master, this is definitely the activation key, no mistake!" the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword replied excitedly.
Li Xuan looked at the two chess pieces in his hand with a complex expression. At the time, he had simply thought Yuan Tian Gang had casually given him two pieces. He never imagined they would be the activation keys to the barrier within the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword.
"This Yuan Tian Gang, my old friend Yuan, is truly a master of his era," Li Xuan mused, then flicked his fingers, sending the two chess pieces into the black and white barrier.
*Buzz!*
As the black piece landed on the white area and the white piece landed on the black area, the black and white barrier began to spin faster. In the next moment, a black and white light shone from the barrier.
Immediately, Li Xuan felt a suction force pull him in.
After a moment of dizziness, Li Xuan looked around. The surroundings were a vast expanse of gray, the land scarred and desolate. Soon, the ground began to tremble, the vibrations growing stronger.
Li Xuan became vigilant. The Benevolent-Malevolent Sword had mentioned countless spirits within the barrier, and it seemed they were about to appear.
*Crackling!*
As a scraping sound echoed, Li Xuan furrowed his brow. In the next instant, his pupils constricted. Skeletons began to emerge from the ground, each radiating a mid-level Dao Origin Realm aura.
"Holy crap!" Seeing the dense horde of spirits, Li Xuan let out a low curse, then moved, throwing a punch at the nearest one.
Within the Zhen Prison, the Azure Spirit Tower and the Heavenly Dao Pen exchanged glances before turning to the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword.
"Did the Little Master get absorbed by you?" the Heavenly Dao Pen asked.
"Did you swallow the Master?" the Azure Spirit Tower also chimed in.
Benevolent-Malevolent Sword: "..."
A moment later, the Benevolent-Malevolent Sword trembled. The Heavenly Dao Pen and the Azure Spirit Tower immediately flew to its side.
"I think I forgot to tell Master how to get out!"
Heavenly Dao Pen: "..."
Azure Spirit Tower: "..."